Monday, August 23, 2010

Butterflies

Saturday morning the butterflies were everywhere in the garden. They love my sister's zinnias. This Gulf Fritillary, above, takes on a pink tint when it lands on a pink flower. My sister planted these zinnia seeds last year, and they were very pretty then. These zinnias are volunteers from those first plants. I think they are prettier than last year.

This male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail looks a little rough around the edges but he is still pretty against a pink zinnia.

Here he is again. He seems to really like the pink ones.

Two Gulf Fritillaries on yellow zinnias. They could be playing follow the leader.

You can see how this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is almost translucent. It looks like it is almost time to lay its eggs. I don't know, but I think the increased activity of the butterflies means they are storing up food to contribute to the next life cycle.

This is the female version of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

I think the butterfly above is a Black Swallowtail. The blue spots are a little more defined.

Finally, another Gulf Fritillary. I think if I didn't like butterflies already, I would now.

3 comments:

Simply gorgeous photos! ! ! These are just beautiful and I am impressed that you know so much about butterflies. These photos could be in a calendar - they are stunning! Your blog sure brightened my day, thanks, Joanie